While I have a handful of serious workhorses in my microphone collection, not all microphones are created equal, and not all are best suited for every job. When it comes to miking an amp and recording guitar, one type of microphone stands head and shoulders above the rest, so let’s talk the best microphone for guitar amp recording.
Condenser vs Dynamic
Microphones generally fall into one of two categories: condenser or dynamic.
As I covered in my overview on condenser vs dynamic microphones, each have their intended purposes.
Condenser Microphones
Condenser microphones are more sensitive and are ideal for quieter instruments with more dynamics:
With condenser microphones, think vocals, piano, and acoustic guitar. These are all relatively quieter instruments which have a lot of nuance in regards to their dynamic range.
An average vocal in particular can have 10dB or more in dynamic range in a single performance, even a single line.
Condenser microphones are more sensitive and thus better suited to capturing every tiny change in level from sample to sample in the performance. That sensitivity also means they don’t handle louder instruments quite as well.
Dynamic Microphones
When you’ve got a louder source or are recording in a louder or unpredictable environment, dynamic microphones.
Dynamic microphones are less sensitive between their construction and capability to handle a louder source.
This both makes them the ideal choice for virtually all microphones used in a live setting as well as when you’re miking a louder source capable of a great sound pressure level (SPL).
When miking a snare drum, for instance, you get huge surges or explosions in that sound pressure instantly and all at once. There isn’t a lot of dynamic range with a snare drum; you’re simply capturing every hit which rings at virtually the same level with the same peaks.
Guitar isn’t quite as extreme an example, but the microphone is still directly on or in front of the speaker, and typically you need to turn up the output gain on the amplifier itself to a decent level to bring out its full character.
Best Microphone for Guitar Amp
While condenser microphones can work on guitar amps, a dynamic cardioid style microphone is typically the best microphone for guitar amp recording.
A classic absolutely workhorse of an example of a dynamic, cardioid microphone which you can argue is the best microphone for guitar amp recording, especially on a budget is the Shure SM-57.
Typically priced under $100, this is arguably the best selling microphone for guitar recording because of its frequency and dynamic response, meaning it can faithfully capture and reproduce the tone from your amplifier as you hear it.
Whether you’re doing a performance with a lot more dynamic nuance like some light finger-picking or you’re strumming some chords with heavy distortion for a near compressed sound, a dynamic cardioid style microphone like the SM-57 is a great choice.
I bought one last just over 10 years ago and it was the same price then as it is today at $99, though I’ve seen it for about 10% off on the odd holiday sale.
First released in 1967, the SM-57 has been one of the world’s best selling microphones for roughly six decades. The next time you’re seeing a live performance of a band with a guitar or drums, check out the amp or snare and there’s a good chance you’ll see one of these microphones.
Aside from being a dynamic microphone, it’s got a cardioid polar pattern.
The polar pattern of a microphone refers to what physical range it’s capable of capturing.
As I covered in my overview of microphone polar patterns, a cardioid patterned microphone captures the narrow band in front of where the microphone is pointing.
As you can see, the name comes from the somewhat shape of a heart of response, capturing what’s in front of it with about 50 degrees on either side.
This makes it ideal for miking a single source, or in this case a guitar amp.
While a dynamic, cardioid style microphone like the Shure SM-57 is the best microphone for guitar amp recording, keep in mind that microphone placement will have just as much of an impact on the recorded tone as the microphone itself.
Check out my tutorials on recording for more information on getting the best recordings simply using the gear you already have more effectively.
